Light Vehicle-Heavy Vehicle Interactions: A Preliminary Assessment Using Critical Incident Analysis

Abstract

ForewordThe purpose of this study was to investigate driving behaviors that lead to critical events (e.g., near misses) when trucks and light vehicles interact on the highway. The results suggest that efforts at addressing light vehicle-heavy vehicle (LV-HV) interaction incidents should focus on the driving behaviors of the light vehicle drivers, as well as heavy vehicle drivers. Further, it is recommended that heavy vehicle drivers may also benefit from improved driver training that includes instruction on defensive driving.Specific to this report, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) was tasked by the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) to conduct an in-depth investigation on what was termed "Light Vehicle-Heavy Vehicle Interactions: A Preliminary Assessment Using Critical Incident Analysis."Archived videotape recordings collected during each on-road data collection effort were retrieved and re-examined. Critical incidents that involved LV-HV interactions were separated and studied in detail, with 78 percent attributed to light vehicle drivers.A taxonomy was then developed as part of the effort, which aided in characterizing the recorded incidents. In addition to identifying the initiator of each incident and categorizing the type of incidents recorded, analyses involved assessing the primary maneuver, general contributing factor, and specific contributing factor associated with each incident.Members of the general public will find this report interesting and informative, as will anyone interested in the study of light vehicle-heavy vehicle interactions. This report is considered final in that it fully documents the results of the aforementioned study, and that the information provided herein is not superceded by other research. NoticeThis document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof.The contents of this report reflect the views of the contractor (and the individuals interviewed) who is responsible for the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Department of Transportation.The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear herein only if they are considered essential to the objectives of the document. This document does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. . 16. Abstract: Two recently completed on-road, in situ data collection efforts provided a large data set in which to conduct an examination of near-crashes and crashes (critical incidents) that occurred between light vehicles (LV) and heavy vehicles (HV). Video and other sensor data collected during the two studies were used to characterize critical incidents that were recorded between LV and HV drivers. Across both studies, 210 LV-HV critical incidents were recorded. Of these, 78 percent were initiated by the light vehic...

Evaluating the Safety Benefits of a Low-Cost Driving Behavior Management System in Commercial Vehicle Operations: Report

“…A safety-related event was Intervention operationally defined as an unexpected event resulting in a close call requiring fast action on th part of the driver to avoid a crash, near-crash, or other traffic event. Safety-related events are likely to require emergency steering or braking, or both, by at least one of the drivers involved Safety-related events are far more numerous than crashes, in which the driver could not avoid a collision through their emergency actions, or lack thereof (Hanowski, Keisler, & Wierwille, 2004). Using an alpha of 0.05 for a two-tailed t test and given the estimated effect size of 1.18, a power of 0.95 would be reached with 30 participants (Lipsey, 1990; page 91).…”

The development of a naturalistic data collection system to perform critical incident analysis: An investigation of safety and fatigue issues in long-haul trucking

“…These incidents are then classified as either safety-related errors or as near crashes (in surface transportation applications). Hanowski et al (2003) operationally defined safety-related errors for driving research as "precautionary braking, swerving, or lane change with minimal risk of a near crash". Dingus et al (1995) also operationally defined a near miss as "a rapid controlled or uncontrolled acceleration, deceleration, swerve, lane change, or stopping to avoid a crash".…”

Descriptive Analysis of Light Vehicle-Heavy Vehicle Interactions from the Light Vehicle Driver's Perspective

“…The current study builds off a previous project that classified critical incidents (crashes and near-crashes) recorded in two fatigue studies, one with Local/Short Haul (L/SH) drivers and the other involving Sleeper Berth (SB) drivers (Hanowski, Keisler, and Wierwille, 2004). The two truck studies involved instrumentation in the truck and recorded events from the HV driver's perspective.…”

“…Most studies that have investigated LV-HV interactions have used crash database analyses, where the database consists of entries from police accident reports (e.g., Blower, 1998;Stuster, 1999). Hanowski, Keisler, and Wierwille (2004) used a naturalistic approach to investigate LV-HV interactions including crashes and near-crashes. In their study, trucks were instrumented with a variety of data collection equipment, including video cameras mounted in and around the truck cab.…”

“…The data from the 100-Car Study (Dingus et al, in press) were used in the current analysis to assess the LV-HV interaction problem from the LV drivers' perspective. One goal of this research was to gain a better understanding of LV-HV interactions on the nation's roadways, comparing the current data to the data collected from the HV drivers' perspective (Hanowski, Keisler, and Wierwille, 2004). This would help to gain a more complete picture of the LV-HV interaction problem, and provide background information that would serve as a necessary prerequisite to the development of countermeasures.…”